page 164 -- Gladiolas, hairstyles & Mattthew 6:33

In the "cure-all" era of drugs prior to the enactment of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, manufacturers threw all sorts of exotic, sometimes poisonous ingredients into their pills and potions. Not surprisingly, they did this with hair products, too. Some of the less pleasant ingredients included acids, alcohols and drugs that may or may not have been effective. Burnett's Cocoaine preparation was a best seller:

Production of Burnett's Cocoaine was under the supervision of Joseph Burnett & Co., a Boston company famous for its high standards. It produced high-grade ether used for tooth extraction, and invented various extracts, such as vanilla. A history of the company and some of its products is on the Old Main Artifacts site. Joseph Burnett also had something to do with the first cow to visit the South Pole. (Until reading this from the Southborough Historical Society as posted by the Southborough Historical Commission, I had no idea a cow had ever wandered down there;-)

The most remarkable hair phenomenon of the late 19th century, however, was the 7 Sutherland Sisters, for whom Google finds many images:

Hailing from Ridge Road, just west of Warrens Corners NY, the 7 sisters managed to earn and lose a fortune as they used their connections with the Barnum & Bailey Circus to sell hair care products. The best article I have found about the sisters is on the Peachridge Glass site.

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